Each week, Crowell & Moring’s State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AGs have taken. Here are this week’s updates.
Multistate
- Five state attorneys general sued the U.S. Department of Education regarding the recent overhaul of Title IX regarding the definition of “gender identity discrimination.” Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act has helped ensure that women have equal access to educational facilities and programs by prohibiting sex-based discrimination in federally-funded education. The five state attorneys general assert that Title IX’s use of “sex” and “gender” as a binary between men and women shows that the Biden Administration’s expansion of sex discrimination to include “gender identity” is unlawful.
- Three state attorneys general praised the FTC’s rule banning non-competes in employment. Michigan Attorney General Nessel noted that, by banning non-compete agreements nationwide, the FTC estimates its rule will: reduce health care costs, enhance entrepreneurship, increase innovation, and bolster worker earnings.
California
- Attorney General Bonta announced that the California Department of Justice is accepting proposals for the 2024-25 Tobacco Grant Program. The program seeks to reduce the illegal sale of tobacco products to minors by providing approximately $28.5 million in grant funding to eligible local agencies.
- Attorney General Bonta reached a $4.5 million settlement with University of Phoenix, and its parent company Apollo Education Group, Inc. for using “aggressive and unlawful military student recruitment tactics from 2012 through 2015.” These tactics violated California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and False Advertising Law (FAL). Attorney General Bonta also alleged that the University of Phoenix violated directives issued by the Department of Defense to curb aggressive and deceptive recruiting of service members.
Washington
- King County Superior Court Judge Marshall Ferguson rejected Albertson and Kroger’s request to dismiss Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s antitrust lawsuit against their proposed merger. Attorney General Ferguson asserted that the merger of the two largest supermarkets in Washington State would severely limit shopping options for consumers and would result in price increases for groceries.